But, does this design symbolize the Israelite tribe or culture to which belonged Mary Magdalene and her son Jesus?
The Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch history begins with the migration of Dutch and German Reformed Church people to the Dutch Colonial trading post of New Amsterdam in the American Colonies. The trading post of New Amsterdam was initially developed in 1626 by Dutch merchants as a Colony for trading furs and ship building lumber. During the English and Dutch War of the 1620's, the English gained possession of New Amsterdam and renamed it New York in honor of Lord York of England.
Gravestone from 1797 in Christ Church, Littlestown, Pennsylvania
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Note the flower engraved below the Morning Star design. This dispells the belief that the Morning Star design is a flower.
Pennsylvania and the symbol
Gravestone of Abraham Sell, Christ Church in Littlestown Pennsylvania, dated 1786 (left)
Gravestone from Saint Mark's Church in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, dated 1842 (right)
The British did not discourage the Dutch and German immigrants from continuing their migration to the New Amsterdam Colony, now known as New York. The area around New York was inhabited by native tribes, and some of the fierce warriors were intent on fighting English expansion. And, the English needed able bodied people to occupy the land and hold it for English interests. The Reformed Church members were the largest group of immigrants to the New York colony in the mid to late 1600's. Dutch and German Reformed Church people were from the southern region of Germany, Holland, and the Low Country area of Europe. People from the Low Country were also known as Low Dutch because of their regional German dialect.
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Nicholaus Geihsel 1742-1777, St. Paul's Church in Cherryville, Pennsylvania
Note the flower engraved below the Morning Star design. This dispells the belief that the Morning Star design is a flower.
The Pennsylvania Colony was created in 1681 when William Penn was granted land in the American Colonies by King Charles II of England. The King gave it the name of Pennyslvania. King Charles II granted Penn the land as a debt of gratitude for the military service of William Penn's father in the Majesty's Royal Navy. William Penn's mother was of the Dutch Reformed faith and very religious. William was very tolerant and accepting of different Christian religious sects. He traveled to Europe to encourage colonization of Pennsylvania by the Reformed Church people who were being discriminated against by the Catholic Church. And thus began the great migration of Dutch and German Reformed Church members from Europe to Pennsylvania. Also, other Reformed church congregations made the trek to Pennsylvania from the neighboring Colonies of Maryland, Lord Baltimore's possession and New York.
From the time of their arrival in Pennsylvania, the Low Dutch people used the ancient cultural symbol to identify their relation to Christianity and the Reformed Church. This unique symbols adorned gravestones, churches, barns, and quilts to honor their heritage. As demonstrated in the photographs below, this symbol has an ancient history.
Dutch and German Reformed Church in Pennsylvania
Members of the Dutch and German Reformed Church began migration from Europe to America in the early 1600's and peaked in the 1750's. The photgraph below is of Conewago Church in Gettysburg, Penna., built by Dutch Reformed people of the Conewago Colony in 1787.
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Conewago Church in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, built in 1787
Visit the Adams County Historical Society: ACHS
In the mid-1700's, Reformed Churches stretched from New York and New Jersey to Pennsylvania and Maryland. Eventually, they made their way to Christ Church in Littlestown and Conewago (Gettysburg), Adams County, Pennsylvania, America. This church was the center point for the Reformed Churches in the Adams County community. In the late 1780's, this area was part of York County and later became Adams County. The image below is the symbol above the door at the front of the Great Conewago Church in Gettysburg, Penna.
The Pennsylvania Dutch kept their cultural and religious heritage by speaking and writing the Low-Dutch German dialect and maintaining their traditions. Many of the men in the Christ Church congregation fought in the American Revolutionary War. Known as excellent marksman, they formed the personal guard for General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Visit: Pennsylvania Historical Society
Pennsylvania Dutch culture began to change in the 1830's, due to the conversion of language from German to English. Declining leadership in the Dutch and German Reform Church resulted in a gradual dissolution of the Reformed Church. Reformed church congregations joined with Lutheran or Protestant churches. After merging congregations the Dutch and German Reformed people sparingly used traditional symbols, specifically on gravestones.
Read more at:
Dutch Reformed in Gettysburg, PA
Learn more about the Gettysburg church: Conewago Colony of Littlestown
Iconography on-line history resources:
International Center for Medieval Art
Visit: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archaeology
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Pennsylvania Heritage Society
Suggested readings & visits:
1) Metropolitan Museum in New York, USA www.metmuseum.org
The Vermand Treasure
Coptic Christian Frieze
2) The British Museum www.TheBritishMuseum.ac.uk
The Byland Abbey
3) Princeton Universitry, Index of Christian Art www.ica.princeton.edu
The Mills Kronborg Collection of Danish Church Wall Paintings
(a) http://ica.princeton.edu/images/mills/13-001.jpg
Janderup. c.1500AD-1520AD. Lily Workshop. (M-K 13-001) Dedication crosses
(b) http://ica.princeton.edu/images/mills/15-026.jpg
Kirkerup. c.1350. (M-K 15-026) Resurrection. Choir, west arch. Christ, with cross nimbus, bleeding from hands and side, right hand, three fingers extended, in blessing, left hand holding vexillum, steps from tomb with right leg. Three soldiers sleep in foreground.
(c) http://ica.princeton.edu/images/mills/16-026.jpg
Linde. c.1500. (M-K 16-026) Decoration.
4) www.pagstones.com
(a) Nicholaus Geihsel 1742-1777, St. Paul's Church in Cherryville, Pennsylvania
5) International Center for Medieval Art (ICMA) www.medievalart.org
6) Historical (Pre 1820) Dutch & German Reformed Churches in America
7)History Compass www.history-compass.com
8) "Rural Pennsylvania German Weaving 1835 - 1857 and The Christian Frey And Henry Small, Pattern Books" - Tandy & Charles Hersh
9) "Faith and Family - Pennsylvania German Heritage in York County Area Fraktur" - June Burk Lloyd - York Heritage Trust
10) "The Hands That Made Them...Quilts of Adams County, Pennsylvania" - Adams County Quilt Project Commitee
11)"Hex Signs" - Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Symbols and Their Meaning
Author - Don Yoder & Thomas Graves - Stackpole Books
12)"Hex Signs and other Barn Decorations" - Elmer Smith and Mel Horst - Applied Arts Publishers
